Following Floods, Ganim Surveys Damaged Homes

Mayor Joe Ganim on Friday toured the water-damaged home of Sheila Ortiz on Renwick Place along the flood-ravaged Rooster River in the Brooklawn section of the West Side. Flash flooding from nearly seven inches of rain on September 25 swelled her basement with water to the top of the residential stairs and totaled her vehicle. Some residents in the neighborhood have been forced into temporary housing.
Ganim, see video above, was joined by his Chief of Staff Dan Shamas during a tour of some damaged homes. Ortiz, who noted insurance won’t cover all the destruction, provided additional information so it can be forwarded to the state for a federal disaster relief application.

Kid, I have to say something about this situation. First I want to thank Howard Gardener for gathering at least 100 residents from both Cartright buildings and the surrounding residential streets. Since I represented that area for 20 years I was present if only for support. The devastation was shocking, elderly people and others had to evacuate while the others will be repairing for a long time. Since I’m fast to criticize, I must be fair since I was present and saw with my eyes how grateful the gathering was towards Howard, the Mayor, Public Works, Scott Appleby, Steve Stafstrom and representatives from Himes and Blumenthal’s offices. I know for a fact that Joey G. and Public Works went back on Friday to personally inspect the damage and get the backup on the streets cleared. Scott explained the steps already in progress with funds (too technical for me to understand) and Steve Stafstrom had every affected resident put their contact information on a sheet, he gave them his phone number and will be meeting with members of the Insurance Commission since some are getting a hard time from their carriers. I know this isn’t the only area in Bridgeport that experienced this devastation, but I will attest that the Mayor and relevant departments were there as soon as they were informed of the forum. What happens next, I don’t know, but with the exception of a few frustrated owners who were, rightfully so, more emotional than others, that group of people was grateful and cautiously optimistic.

Kid, I stayed to speak with some of my former constituents, so if they were there I didn’t see them. Howard Gardener did all the work planning the forum and he had it under control. There was no grandstanding allowed.

Pretty much everything along a stream or river or in any sort of depression, throughout a large portion of the Bridgeport region, was flooded in the September 25 deluge.

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned in regard to situations exacerbating the flooding is OVERDEVELOPMENT… The constant increase in impervious surface — “development” (more buildings, parking lots, and roads) upstream and adjacent to flooded areas has drastically increased the degree and danger of flooding throughout the area…

Unchecked development on the Trumbull-Bridgeport border (in Trumbull) has increased dangerous flooding throughout the North End — especially along Island Brook (Lake Forest/Whiskey Hill), Wayne Street/Madison Avenue)… Recently, several hundred new housing were approved for the Lindeman Drive office park adjacent to Lake Forest — a situation that should have been addressed by Senator Marilyn Moore, Representative Stallworth, Councilpersons Roman-Christy and Lee, as well as Mayor Ganim… These public servants allowed this situation to proceed without any sort of heads up to Lake Forest residents or dialogue with Trumbull…

Police boats had to be used to evacuate two families on Lakeside Drive, with many more homes incurring severe damage in the neighborhood…

Regional development is a big factor that must be considered in this weather-era of more intense, flood-producing storms… This hasn’t happened — in terms of inland flooding…

One situation that is looming and which will have severe consequences for the Upper East Side, East Side and beyond, is the development of the Remington Woods — 435 acres of woodlands that holds back an awful lot of water that would otherwise produce catastrophic flooding in the Upper East Side, East Side, and all along the Pequonnock to Downtown…

While the reaction to flooding situations by our public officials might seem noble, their timely intervention in problematic development upstream from flood-prone areas would show true leadership… Many of the public officials in office now were in office when there could have been intervention in regard to the problematic Trumbull-border development that is has been exacerbating catastrophic flooding throughout the North End since developers,
such as Frouge, in the 60’s (Trumbull Shopping Park)and Robert Scinto (in the 80’s)
began overdevelopment of the Bridgeport border in the North End back in the 80’s and have been allowed to continue, unchecked, to the present…